Dawood Dithato
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Joe Matthews will not be prosecuted on 12-year- old charges that he embezzled his clients’ money while practising as an attorney in Botswana in the 1980s.
The office of the attorney general in Botswana is abandoning its long pursuit of Matthews after the deputy minister reportedly repaid one of the complainants.
A warrant for Matthews’s arrest has been outstanding since May 1985, when Matthews, then an attorney in private practice in Gaborone, jumped R13 500 bail and fled the country rather than face trial on charges of “theft by agent” for embezzling separate amounts of R156 600 and R4 725 from two clients.
The decision not to pursue the case has outraged lawyers in Botswana, who say that in dropping the charges the attorney general, the country’s top prosecuting authority, has set a dangerous legal and ethical precedent.
After years of evading Botswanan authorities, Matthews surfaced in South Africa during the early 1990s as a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party’s delegation to the constitutional talks at the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park.
The Botswanan attorney general’s office said at the time that it might apply to have Matthews extradited to face trial, but the application was never made. Neither was the warrant for Matthews’s arrest rescinded, nor the charges against him dropped.
When he was named by President Nelson Mandela as second in command of the Ministry of Safety and Security, he was still a fugitive from justice in Botswana.
Botswana’s deputy attorney general, Abednico Tafa, said if his office can confirm that Matthews has repaid the stolen funds, the docket will be closed.
Tafa says the decision is in part because the major witness in the case, Derek Brink, from whom Matthews stole the R156 600, has been repaid in full, and is “not interested in pursuing the matter”.
“The other complainant has not shown up either,” Tafa said, “but, given the little amount he says he is owed, it might not be cost-effective for him to pursue criminal proceedings against Matthews.”
But others in the legal profession in Botswana say the decision creates the wrong impression, and sets a dangerous legal precedent.
“When a criminal act has been committed, even if the culprit makes good, he is still liable to prosecution,” said local attorney Gabriel Kanjabanga.
“Whether or not Matthews has paid up, he remains a fugitive from justice who should be quickly extradited to Botswana,” Kanjabanga said, adding that Matthews’s paying up “is tantamount to an admission of guilt and the state would therefore have less trouble proving its case”.
Kanjabanga claims Botswanans in general have been mystified by the elevation of Matthews in South Africa.
Matthews is the first son of Professor ZK Matthews, a former African National Congress leader who died in exile after becoming Botswana’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Joe Matthews remained in Botswana, renouncing his South African citizenship and becoming a citizen of Botswana. He was a top aide to the late president Seretse Khama, and then moved on to become Botswana’s deputy attorney general. After leaving the public service, Matthews went into private legal practice until his departure from Botswana in 1985.
The charges against Matthews included 16 counts of theft, one of these being cattle baron Brink’s R156 600. The money had been entrusted to Matthews by Gaborone law firm Minchin and Kelly.
Matthews was also charged with theft of R4 725 belonging to Maun businessman Kegaisamang Ramokwena. Matthews was to have transferred the funds to the Francistown law firm, Mosojane and Phumaphi, but allegedly kept it instead.
Matthews had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was to appear for trial at the time of his escape. Among the last to be with him was his attorney, Rahim Khan, who had met with him on the Saturday preceding the trial. They had agreed they would see one another in court.
Matthews was last seen driving from Gaborone along the Francistown road. When it became apparent he was not coming back, the Gaborone magistrate presiding over Matthews’s case issued a warrant for his arrest.
Matthews’s escape was widely covered in the Botswanan press at the time. He was reported to be hiding in Zambia or Zimbabwe, then in a London suburb. Scotland Yard and Interpol were alerted; authorities in Botswana were reported to have made preliminary contact with British authorities to have Matthews arrested and extradited.
However, it was revealed that Matthews was not in London, but suspected to be in the Transkei.
He was still on the run from Botswanan authorities while a participant in constitutional talks.
Though Brink appears to be satisfied with the outcome of the case, Ramokwena confirmed in a telephone interview that he still wants his money from Matthews and, as far as he is concerned, the charges should still stand.
Brink has refused to comment on the case, instructing his secretary that “he is not taking any calls from journalists inquiring about the Matthews case”.